At least 13 people were killed and 13 remained missing after heavy rains caused flash floods, mud-slides and landslides in south China's Hunan, Guizhou, Guangdong provinces and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

A Chinese court today sentenced four government workers to between three and a half and 11 years` jail over a dispute that left a roadside vendor dead, state media reported, unleashing fresh accusations of official privilege.